Pests of Ipomoea Batatas
Ipomoea batatas, or sweet potato vines, are herbaceous perennial plants native to North America. Gardeners cultivate ornamental varieties for their attractive leaves and grow agricultural sweet potatoes as a food source. A number of pests feed on Ipomoea batatas. Does this Spark an idea?
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Types
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Sweet potato weevils (Cylas formicarius) have ant-like bodies with orange legs, black heads and metallic-blue bodies. Sweet potato whiteflies (Bemisia tabaci) are tiny, four-wing flying insects with yellowish-white bodies and white wings. Their bodies are covered in a waxy white substance. Cutworms are the larvae of moths. They vary in color from gray to dark brown depending on the species.
Effects
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Sweet potato weevil larvae and adults feed on sweet potatoes, causing spongy, cavity-filled potato tubers. Sweet potato whiteflies pierce plant tissues and suck sap from foliage, resulting in shriveled, yellow leaves, defoliation and plant death. They also transmit viruses to susceptible host plants and leave deposits of sticky honeydew on leaves and vines. Cutworms destroy young seedlings by severing the stems from the plant at ground level.
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Control
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Growers control sweet potato weevils by removing and discarding unharvested potatoes, where the pests can hide. They add predatory nematodes to the soil to control weevil populations and spray the soil with insecticides before planting. Whitefly infestations are controlled with chemical insecticides, and cutworms can be trapped with insect baits.
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